West Virginia's Nerd Home

Main menu

Tag Archives: robots

Rising Star is celebrating their twenty-fifth year at the Othello Harris-Jefferson Student Center of Bluefield State College in Bluefield Friday October 21st 6pm to 11pm and Saturday October 22nd 9am to 11pm. They are also celebrating the forty anniversary of conventions in the region.

They will have a kid’s cosplay contest on Saturday and an adult one on Sunday, various panels, games of Pathfinder, Magic: The Gathering tournament, other gaming demos, gaming library, and retro video games.

Admission at the door will be $20 for both days. They will also have exclusive covers for sell for Generation Zero and two different Prince-S STARthief done by guests for sell at the show.

West Virginia State University Artist-in-Residence Daniel Boyd will be the featured presenter at the Rising Star Science Fiction Convention, October 23 and 24 at the Harris – Jefferson Student Center of Bluefield State College. Boyd will be discussing “Next–to–No-Budget Filmmaking in West Virginia” on Friday night. The talk will be a discussion of how he produced three low-budget films during the 1980s in a state not well known for its film industry. This will be followed by a twenty-fifth anniversary showing of his SF adventure, “Strangest Dreams: Invasion of the Space Preachers.”
On Saturday afternoon, he will be taking part in a discussion of independent comics. His third graphic novel, “Carbon” was released earlier this year. It’s sequel, “Salt” is currently in the planning stages.

A tentpole of the event is the annual appearance of the award-winning Bluefield State College Robotics Team. Well known and well-respected in the college robotics field, the team demonstrate their latest projects and innovations in the field of autonomous mechanisms.

Other items of interest include tradition tabletop, card and electronic games, anime, workshops, a vendors area and much more. The centerpiece of the event is a collectibles auction which raises funds toward the endowment of scholarships in the names of Jonathan David Miller and David Eugene Craig, founding members of the Bluefield State College Science Fiction Club. All proceeds from the auction go toward the goal of raising $10,000.00 to endow a $500.00 annual scholarship in the name of the honorees. A portion of any net profits from the convention itself will also be applied to this goal.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Friday evening, with programming starting at 7:00 p.m. and going on until roughly midnight. The doors reopen Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. and are open until the end of the Saturday evening entertainment, which includes a concert by musical comedy group White Plectrum. Admission at the door for attendees six and up is $5.00 to the public. Students of Bluefield State College, as well as faculty and staff get in free.

Charcon returns for another year of gaming at the Charleston Civic Center this Friday October 16th at noon to Sunday October 18th at 7pm. This year’s theme is Monsters vs. Aliens.

Games include the Premier Board Game Tournament with five new board games, Pathfinder Society, SPARKS Star Wars RPG, Aerodrome, Sailpower, Artemis Space Ship Simulator, Are you a Werewolf?, Catan Qualifier Tournament, Warmachine Appalachian Cup Championship, Pandemic Survival, 6 WV State Championship card games, Dagorhir demos, Mario Kart and Carcassonne drinking games, King of New York Tournament, Live Action Red Dragon Inn, Battletech, 2 Rooms and a Boom, Dice Masters draft, Warhammer 40k, a board game library from the Appalachian Gamers, open gaming space, D&D, and so much more.

They have lined up a few guests this year. The Guest of Honor is cosplayer Raining Neion. Artist guest Billy Tackett, cosplay guest Harley Heartthrob, authors Michael Knost and Brian Hatcher. Plus Stephanie Erb, an actress who has appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation, True Blood, Ray Donovan, 24, and The Ring.

Non-gaming events include panels on horror gaming, cosplay, photography, art in gaming, and more. Photo shoots with guests and cosplayers. Adult costume contest on Saturday with the winner getting a brand new sewing machine. A kids costume contest and kids Ghostbusters Training on Sunday. Drink and draw Saturday night along with the Charcon After Dark. Live robotics demonstration with P.A.R.T.s. Vendors and artist alley.

A weekend pass is $40, Friday and Sunday pass $20, and Saturday $25. Children twelve and under can get a weekend pass for $20 or day pass for $10. A non-gaming pass is $10 per day.

This is a big year of gaming, with lots of different games to get in on and more non-gaming activities too. I will be running Super Dungeon Explorer on Friday night, Kittens in a Blender on Saturday, and Krosmaster Arena on Sunday. So come by and join in a game.

Rising Star is a sci-fi convention held on the campus of Bluefield State College in Bluefield. It is a small and very relaxed style convention that covers many different fandoms. This year’s event is on October 25th through the 26th.

Things to do and see at the con include an art show and auction, makeup demos, table top gaming, tournaments by Rare Hunters, dealers, art demos, video game tourneys by Game Stop, charity auction, dance party, fighting demos, LARPing, My Little Pony meetup, film fest, anime room, costume call, photo ops, music concerts, and various panels. I will be holding a panel on “Nerd Music” and joining the panel on Doctor Who. Food will be available on site for purchase.

Passes to the con are only $5. Students and staff of Bluefield State College get in free with a BSC ID. This is something for fans who like small events and are more into events with substance instead of flashing events.